Tartum looked at the man. He was short for an adult, no more than five feet tall and a little on the skinny side. He had short, dark hair, that framed a long sallow face. He wasn’t an attractive man, by any stretch of the word, and seemed shifty as he stood there glaring at him. His large sinister eyes observed Tartum, like an owl observed a mouse moments before the kill. He wore a smirk on his face that made Tartum nervous. He wore a black leather jerkin that was very worn from years of use. A set of brown trousers and boots completed his rather sparse ensemble, with nothing else on his person, other than a pair of wide bladed daggers hanging from on each side of his simple leather belt. He nodded to Tartum as he was introduced. He was the model of overconfidence.
Tartum was confused at his title. The Appraiser? Was he going to teach Tartum how to tell the quality of gems? It didn’t make sense. Chancing another question, Tartum spoke, “What exactly does he appraise?”
Jeth looked Tartum up and down and then replied, “You!” He laughed heartily at his joke, and the rest of the group joined in. Savall was the only one that didn’t laugh. Although he did smile at the joke. Tartum wasn’t fond of being made fun of and shot Jeth a scathing look. Jeth saw it and made a face of mock fear. Tartum wasn’t fond of this man at all.
Savall continued his introductions.
“This is Rashlarr. He is the most powerful caster in the guild. He will train you in the mystic arts. If he tells you to do something, you do it. His training will make you a powerful man, even amongst other casters.” he said.
Tartum smiled and nodded at Rashlarr. Rashlarr looked at Tartum and smiled. His smile held no warmth in it. It almost seemed like Rashlarr was someone else, his eyes took on a crazed look. Tartum looked away as Savall introduced the third person in the room.
“This is Vaund. He is one of the healers of the guild. He’s a very potent healer and will take good care of you during your training. Have no doubt. You will get to know Vaund very well over the next few years.” Savall said with a wink. Tartum was beginning to think he made a mistake.
Tartum looked at the man as Savall introduced him. He seemed to be a little older than Tartum, he guessed twenty-four or twenty-five years of age. He looked more worried than Tartum and shifted his eyes around, as if he was trying to look everywhere at once. He wore a large wool cloak that covered his hands and feet. It was undyed and looked relatively cheap in comparison to the others in the room. He had no noticable weapons, and the way he carried himself, Tartum thought, he could start crying at any moment. He wondered at the healing ability he would be capable of. Tartum hoped he wouldn’t need him for anything too severe.
Vaund approached him and held out a measuring tape. He began taking his measurements without saying a word. Tartum was confused.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Vaund didn’t look up from his work. “Taking your measurements.” he said.
“Why?” Tartum asked.
Vaund didn’t reply. He took a few more measurements, then nodding to himself, turned his back to Tartum and walked out of the room. Tartum was very confused but didn’t have a chance to find out what that was all about. Savall was on the move again, and Tartum was looking forward to the next introduction.
Savall came to the woman of the group. Tartum found himself getting lost in her amazingly bright blue eyes. Her shoulder length brown hair was clean and well kept. Her skin was flawless and smooth. Her lips formed into a natural pout, that seemed to him like they were begging to be kissed. She wore a supple black leather shirt and tight fitting black leather pants to match. They didn’t shine like he would have expected. They seemed to absorb the light and make the area around her darker. They only served to make her more attractive to Tartum’s eye. He felt his blood begin to boil as he looked at her.
“This lovely woman’s name is Elizabeth. She is the greatest Soft Touch master in the guild. She will teach you how to walk through a room unnoticed. She will teach you how to take a woman’s necklace off her breast in the middle of a crowded room, with no one the wiser. She will teach you the art of distraction and misinformation. In short, she will teach you to be a shadow in both body and mind.” Savall spoke with much pride as he introduced him to this woman. Clearly she was a favored member.
Elizabeth looked at him with a demure look. She seemed to be sizing him up. Whether that was for a kiss or a knife he had no idea. All he knew was that he was lost in that look and would do anything she asked. She smiled at him and then her attention went to the dog. With everything that had happened, Tartum had forgotten he had brought the animal with him. He felt ashamed and gave the dog a quick pat on the back.
If the dog noticed he gave no sign. He was wagging his tail almost as hard as when Tartum woke him at the inn and was walking in place in his excitement. Elizabeth knelt down and spoke to him.
“Hey buddy! What you doing!? Who’s a good boy?! Who’s a good doggie! Come here! C’mere you little cutie!” Elizabeth said to the dog. It ran the short distance to her and licked her face. Tartum was floored. Elizabeth looked up at him, a huge smile lighting up her face.
“What’s his name?” was all she asked.
Tartum began to answer when he realized he had no idea. “I...uhhhh...haven’t had him that long...I don’t have a name for him yet.” he answered.
Elizabeth frowned at Tartum and switched her attention back to the animal. She was petting him vigourously, and the dog was loving it. “Well that’s stupid. How do you have a dog without a name?” she was no longer talking to Tartum. Instead she was now directly addressing the animal. “What should we call you buddy? Hmmm...well, how about Buddy? Yes, I like it. Your name is Buddy! You like that boy? You look like a Buddy!” she said.
Standing up, happy with herself, she gave Tartum a curious glance. “How do you like the name?” she asked.
Tartum was floored. “Umm...Yea, Buddy is a good name.” was all he could manage in response.
Elizabeth nodded at the approval. Gracefully, she turned and began to leave the room, coaxing the dog to follow. “Come on Buddy! Let’s go see if we can’t find you a bone! Come on big guy! That’s a good Buddy dog!” Tartum watched as she left with his dog chasing after her. He was sad to see her go and worried about his pet.
“Where’s she going with my dog?” Tartum asked Savall. It was Jeth that answered. The man suddenly appeared next to him and had his arm around his shoulders like they were old friends.
“Don’t you worry about your dog. Lizzy there has an affinity for animals and would sooner let one of us die than to allow any harm to come to him. You got nothing to worry about. Say, that’s an incredible looking staff you got there. Where’d you get it?” Jeth asked. He began guiding Tartum towards the hallway Elizabeth had just used. The rest of the group was leaving as well, and Tartum was too confused about what was happening to question it. He didn’t like Jeth this close to him, nor his being so familiar, but he wanted to make a good first impression, so he went with it.
“Umm...thanks. I hope my dog...Buddy...is going to be ok. I got my staff from my original master, as a gift, when I was sixteen. Where are we going?” Tartum answered.
Jeth kept up his wave of questions, all the while, leading Tartum down into the depths of the building. “Really? A gift? That’s an amazing gift, especially for someone as young as you were. Does it do anything fancy? Is that real jade and gold it’s made of?” Jeth’s questions went on and on as they walked deeper and deeper into the building. The walls were narrowing and no longer finished. They were stacked stone and mortar. Their way was lit by torches that barely provided enough light to part the gloom.
“Where are we?” Tartum interrupted Jeth’s twentieth question about his staff.
Jeth paused and looked around. He acted as if he was surprised to find himself there. “This building used to be the old jail house, long ago, when Saroth was still young. The new one is much bigger and much nicer, believe me!” Jeth said with a wink and a smile. “One of the old holdi
ng cells is right over here! You’ll never believe what’s inside! Come! Look!” Jeth said and ran over to a dark corner at the end of the hall.
Tartum hesitated and decided he’d had enough of the dark. Sensing a trap, he opened himself to the magic and allowed it to rush inside him. Finding the gold strand on his staff that pulled at him, Tartum said the word of command.
“Light!”
The enchanted gold strand began to glow brightly and lit the gloom of the hallway. The pull on the magic inside Tartum was as strong as the light, and Tartum felt weakened by the sensation. Refusing to show his weakness, Tartum walked forward to where Jeth was waiting for him, an amused smile was on his face.
“Ohhhhh! I like that fancy walking stick you got there! You didn’t tell me it did that! Very impressive!” Jeth said. Tartum could detect no sarcasm in his voice and allowed the compliment to sink in. It was nice to be appreciated by others.
Feeling good about himself, and beginning to believe he had Jeth pegged wrong, Tartum dropped his guard. He looked around and discovered that Jeth probably wasn’t lying about this being an old dungeon. The walls were moldy and coarse. The torches were definately the only light source and everything was wet. The floor was a solid piece of flat stone and was unusually clean for a dungeon. Tartum assumed this area must get alot of traffic.
“Come look in this room Tartum!” Jeth called.
Tartum walked over to his new friend and looked inside. The room was completely barren and dark. Tartum stepped in to get a closer look at whatever it was Jeth wanted him to see. The moment he stepped inside the cell, his staff went dark, and the magic inside him dissipated. The sudden weakness that hit him caused him to stumble. He started to fall, when he felt something tug at his staff. Tartum was spun around as something ripped his staff away. He saw Jeth, holding his staff, standing in the doorway of the cell, with that same grin on his face.
“Welcome to the Null Box, Recruit!” without missing a beat, Jeth kicked Tartum full in the chest and slammed the door, trapping him in the room.
Tartum fell to the ground as the door slammed shut. Momentarily winded, Tartum lay on the floor trying to breathe. He didn’t understand what had just happened. He didn’t care. He wanted his staff back, and he wanted to be let out of this room. If this was some kind of a joke, he didn’t find it funny. If it was something other than a joke, Tartum would kill everyone in the guild to exact his revenge.
He heard Jeth outside the door. He was laughing.
Tartum recovered and threw himself at the door. It was pitch black in the room, but he found the door by following the sound of Jeth’s laughter.
“OPEN THE DOOR, JETH! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Tartum shouted.
Jeth’s laughter intensified at Tartum’s plea. He was enjoying this very much.
“SHUT UP, AND OPEN THE GODS DAMNED DOOR!” Tartum screamed again. His fury was mounting.
Jeth got control of himself apparently, because Tartum heard his laugher ease and then stop altogether. “JETH! OPEN THE DOOR!” Tartum ordered again. He had had just about all he could take of this joke.
Suddenly a thin panel in the door slid open and poured light into the room. Tartum could only see Jeth’s eyes through the slot. Tartum blinked and backed up from the light. His eyes needed time to adjust.
Jeth looked at Tartum for a moment. Then an amused look formed in his eyes. “Relax, you can come out of there whevever you want. You just need to prove yourself worthy first.” he said.
Tartum’s fury took over; he rushed at the door, thinking to gouge out Jeth’s eyes through the slot. Jeth didn’t move. As Tartum reached for the slot and his fingers were almost in Jeth’s eyes, the door over the slot slammed closed, painfully hitting Tartum’s outstretched fingers. Tartum roared with pain and outrage.
“No, no, no! Bad Tartum! If you’re going to be rude I can always just leave you here. Are you going to play nice, or should I just come back later?” Jeth’s disembodied voice taunted him from the other side of the door.
Tartum dropped to his knees with the pain. It shot through his whole body, and he crouched down over his fingers, waiting for it to pass. He couldn’t speak while he waited for the pain to pass. A panel at the bottom of the door opened up, and something slid through. The panel didn’t close right away, and Tartum stared at the object, trying to determine what it was. After a moment, he realized it was a rat. A large, dead rat.
Jeth chuckled, “If you want out of the Null Box, all you have to do is eat that rat. That’s it. Nothing more. Until you eat that rat, however, you’ll be stuck in there. Forever if need be. The choice is yours.” Laughing, Jeth closed the bottom panel, but his eyes reappeared in the top slot almost immediately.
Tartum couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Jeth wanted him to eat a rat!? What kind of insanity was this? He honestly believed he was going to consume vermin!? Tartum’s rage took over, and he stood up. He would show this fool, and all the rest, who he was and what he was capable of! He opened himself to the source...and felt nothing.
Panic crushed his rage. Why couldn’t he feel the magic? What happened to his power? What had they done to him!? Did they burn him out? Was the magic gone forever!? He shouted his fear at Jeth’s amused eyes.
“What’s going on!? Why can’t I use my magic? What happened? What did you do to me!? Why are you doing this?! Let me out! LET ME OUT!” Tartum screamed.
The amused look left Jeth’s eyes, and a harder one took its place. He no longer seemed to be enjoying Tartum’s pleas.
“Shut up, you whiney bitch!” Jeth snapped at him. “Let me out! Let me out!” Jeth impersonated Tartum’s voice in a sarcastic mockery. “I’ve already told you this is a Null Box. Null, as in, it NULLIFIES magic. Didn’t you realize that when you walked inside, and your staff went dark? Didn’t you feel the magic leave your body? You’re an idiot, and that’s why you’re in there. You need to shed that childish mentality, that the world owes you something. It makes you weak and pathetic. I have appraised you and found you wanting. You want to prove me wrong? Eat the damned rat. It won’t kill you, and then you’ll be back outside in the world of the strong. Stop your whining though. Be a man for once in your pampered life.” Jeth said with disgust.
“Please, I just want out of this room.” Tartum begged, tears forming in his eyes.
“You disgust me. I’ll be back when your balls drop. Might as well get it over with, recruit, eventually I’ll get you to eat that rat!” And with that, Jeth slid the slot closed and left Tartum alone in the darkness.
...
Jeth was irritated with Tartum’s behavior. For a moment, he thought Tartum would impress him and eat the rat without hesitation. Unfortunatly not. Instead, he whimpered and cried like a baby. The look on his face when he realized he couldn’t use his magic was priceless! Jeth always enjoyed initiating the new recruits. Throwing casters in the Null Box always gave him a sense of satisfaction. No matter how high and mighty casters thought they were, the Null Box always broke them. It was just a question of time.
Hefting the staff, he let the bottom tip drag across the wall as he walked back to join up with the others. They would want to know how the initial training was going. He watched as the staff carved a small trail in the wall as he walked. Whatever this staff was made of, it was harder than the ancient stones that made up these walls and heavy as hells! He was admiring the staff, when he heard someone approach. Looking up, he saw Rashlarr coming towards him. Not surprising, he would come to check on the recruit. Tartum was to be his first pupil since his promotion to head caster. His predecessor had just recently come into a bout of bad luck, that earned him a guest appearence at the chopping block. From what Jeth heard, most of the town had shown up to watch.
“How did it go?” Rashlarr asked. His voice had taken on a tone of superiority. Jeth didn’t like it. He liked Rashlarr when he was his old jovial self. When he was this serious, brooding person, Jeth didn’t like being around him at all. He made him feel uncomfortable an
d small.
“How do you think it went? I kicked him into the room and locked the door. He got angry. Everyone gets angry at first. He made threats and false promises of course. They all do that too. When he discovered his magic wouldn’t work, he was shocked. He’s stupid. A brat. He wants everything his way. Well, I gave him the rat. When he comes to terms with the fact that not everything is going to go his way and succumbs, then he’ll be strong. Well, strong enough for the next stage of his training. Just like everyone else.” Jeth said, without really caring.
“Kinda went rough on him, didn’t you?” Rashlarr asked. He was looking at the staff now. Analyzing it with piercing eyes.
“Well of course I did. I had to get his staff from him, and I had to get him into the room without getting magicked to death, didn’t I? If you could think of a better way, then you should have put him in there.” Jeth was getting mad now. Who was Rashlarr to question his methods? Every recruit went through the breaking. Tartum would be no different.
Rashlarr was barely listening. He reached out and took the staff from Jeth. He held it up, staring at it for a moment. Then he lowered it and shook his head. He suddenly looked weary, like he’d been up for too many hours. The look in his eyes changed and was replaced by the jovial look Jeth was accustumed to seeing. The shift in personality was still very offputting, and Jeth’s hands subconsciously moved to his daggers.
If Rashlarr noticed, he didn’t say anything. “Good job, Jeth. Let me know when he eats the rat. I assume you’ll be taking bets? Put me down for a week. I know you well enough to know, you’ll probably bully him into it in a week.” Laughing, Rashlarr waved to Jeth and began to walk off.
“What if he doesn’t eat it? He’ll die, you know. It’s rare, but occasionally, someone is so full of pride, they allow themselves to die, rather than to be broken.” Jeth said, it was his turn to be serious now.
Rashlarr stopped and began to turn around. He apparently changed his mind mid-turn. Instead, he simply shrugged and continued on his way. “If that happens then I was wrong about him. We’ll sell his staff and share the profits!” he called over his shoulder.
The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 Page 19
